MOUNT MORRIS TOWNSHIP – The start of Montrose’s regional championship game versus Montrose was a carbon copy of the last time they met in the regular season.

Montrose got off to a hot start, which forced Beecher to play catch up, but once the Bucs got back in the game it was lights out. Beecher rallied back from a 10-point deficit in the first quarter to beat Montrose 46-36 for its seventh straight Class C regional championship at Beecher on Thursday, March 13.

Beecher handed Montrose two losses in the regular season, but none were as intense or emotional as the regional title matchup in the playoffs. There was a lot more at stake.

“We just had to settle down. We weren’t hitting shots early,” Beecher coach Mike Williams said. “I thought we played pretty decent defense so I switched to a zone that slowed them down a little bit and it changed the momentum and that shot by Amariontez Ivory at the end of the half really solidified the momentum and we were able to take that and ride it along to the end.”

Beecher trailed 22-15 before Ivory drained his deep 3-pointer to beat the buzzer heading into halftime. Ivory did a fist pump on the ground to celebrate the shot, as the fans went crazy. Montrose led 22-18 at halftime but Ivory’s shot lifted Beecher’s spirits after a rough beginning.

“That was a big shot and it changed the early drought,” said Ivory. “That was a big shot to bring to bring us into the second half. I don’t know why we come out slow but we always step it up in the second half.”

Montrose went up 13-3 in the first quarter, fueled by Antonieo McMillion’s seven first quarter points. Beecher didn’t connect on its first field goal until the second quarter when Aquavius Burks hit a mid-range jumper at 7:34. Burks’ free throw with one second left in the third gave Beecher its first lead of the game, 32-31, and the teams traded one-point leads early in the fourth until Beecher closed out the game on a 14-5 run with freshman guard Malik Ellison as its main ball handler.

Ellison scored six of his 12 points in the fourth quarter and called the regional title win the biggest game of his life. He’s 14-years-old competing against high school kids 19 and under right out of middle school.

“We just kept working hard and we didn’t get down on ourselves we just kept believing,” Ellison said. “We just have to do this for Coach Mike and Beecher. All of the hype and crowd getting into it made me keep working hard and playing off that.”

Ivory ended with 14 points, Burks scored nine points, and Tommie Johnson grabbed eight rebounds with six points. McMillion got off with19 points but Montrose’s top scorer Malik Taylor was bothered by Beecher’s zone defense and only scored three points. Jeff Long contributed six points.

“We battled hard all game long but we needed to be a little more aggressive against their press,” said Montrose coach Jason Danek. “I’m really proud of our guys for how hard they fought.”

Beecher (22-3) now advances to the quarterfinal round. The Bucs will face Pewamo-Westphalia (21-2) at Owosso next Tuesday, March 18 at 7 p.m. Williams and the gang are eyeing a three-peat.

“We’re not playing to lose we’re going after this,” Williams said. “We’ve been down that road so we’re going after it. We don’t fear anybody. We know what’s out there and we’re taking it one game at a time. Our trophy is sitting in there and we plan on keeping it here.”